Zero No Tsukaima Next
by Shadowys
Summary: Coincidence happens. After 3000 years.
1. Chapter 1

He was in heaven wasn't he?

He saw a beautiful angel in front of him, her tea brown eyes watery, eyelids down in worry looking at him. She bit her small pink lips as she scanned his body.

Hiraga Saito blinked. He was lying down on a bed of grass. His body was aching everywhere so he stretched his body. Feeling his joints pop as he got up, he got to look at the angel before him again.

Her hair color was a soft pink that seems to accentuate the velvety strands over her creamy white skin. He felt his heart race just by looking at her.

Then someone laughed.

It started as scattered snickers but slowly grew into a wave of laughter.

He could vaguely make out what they were saying. Their accent of English was strange, like a mixture of French and German.

A dry and annoying female voice rang out, " Louise! Oh Louise the Zero! You summoned a plebeian as your familiar! How very expected of you."

Just then Saito realised that he was not in heaven, but sitting on the ground surrounded by cloaked people. He cocked his eyebrows.

"No I did not! This is some kind of mistake! Mr Gimli, please allow me to do a resummon!" The pink haired girl, Louise had a crystalline voice.

"True, I've never heard of a plebeian being summoned before, Miss de Orneilles. Nevertheless, the Summon Servant spell is sacred and is only done once every spring for the second years. Please proceed with the ceremony. We don't have time to waste after you've failed the last twelve attempts." Mr Gimli seemed the authoritative figure here, Saito figured.

They are strange people, talking about spells and what not. What the heck was that supposed to mean?

Louise was seething. Why was she the one with the strange familiar? She was hoping with something cool, like a hippogriff or a dragon, but what she got was this plebeian. It was so uncool.

A-a-and who said that the summoning must be completed with a k-k-kiss anyway...

Louise's lips trembled in desperation.

"May the Pentagon have mercy on this familiar and complete the bond between it and the master." Louise chanted as she held her arms apart.

She looked at Saito straight in the eye. "Be still. This may be the only chance you're probably going to get from a noble."

Saito cocked his eyebrows.

Louise leaned her face into his.

Saito's eyes widened.

Louise's fists tightened, but she pressed her lips on Saito's.

He was shocked, but he simply couldn't turn away. Her lips was soft as melted butter, with the sweet scent of honey. What great deed did he do to enjoy this moment, he wondered.

She pulled away, her face slightly pink. She was embarrassed. That was her first kiss, though the experience wasn't bad. She looked at his dark brown eyes for a moment, but hastily stood up as she realised again how absurd this was.

Saito could see how red her face was, her delicate features layered with anger.

"Aaargh! What have you done to me!" His face was contorted in pain as his chest was suddenly burning in agony.

"That's just the rune of the familiar being carved into you." Louise dismissed it as nothing important, "It'll pass soon."

Saito opened his black jacket and lifted up his shirt. Sure enough, cursive runes appeared.

Mr Gimli's eyes widened in shock as he saw the runes.

"Alright then, I believe that is the last of the students. Shall we proceed to the next class, noble ladies and gentlemen?" Mr Gimli then turned to Louise.

"Well done, Miss Orneilles. In spite of everything, you pulled this off without a hitch. I'm proud of you." He treated her to a sincere smile and left by flying.

Wait what? Flying?

Saito rubbed his eyes. They weren't wearing any special rocket boots nor did he sensed any anti gravity contraption here.

"Are they actually levitating through the air?!" He exclaimed loudly. Louise sighed and nodded.

"It's just basic magic. But I guess since you're a plebeian it would be strange to you that people can fly."

"It's not that strange, just that they weren't wearing flight tools like rocket boots."

Louise frowned and pouted. She was completely clueless about what nonsense he wad spouting. Saito found himself drowning in her cuteness again but mentally shook himself to wake up.

"Where the heck am I ?"

"That's not the way to talk to a noble you know! Have you any manners at all?" Louise was pretty scary when she was irritated. "We are in Tristania of Halkegenia of course!"

Saito rubbed his face in despair. He hadn't heard of that place before at all. Just a minute ago he was walking to a blind date his mother set up for him. Noticing a shining circle in the air that just popped up suddenly beside him, he poked at it out of curiosity, and here he was, at coo coo land. He sighed and looked around for a way to escape this nightmare.

Louise looked at Saito shyly. That was her first kiss. Her first kiss with a guy.

Shyness turned to anger when she remembered that he was a familiar. Her first kiss was given to a familiar! Moreover, a plebeian! A useless and boring plebeian, she thought. Her petite body began to tremble.

"Why did it have to be a plebeian!" Louise yelled as she punched Saito squarely in the face with all her might.

The last thing he saw before passing out was the twin moons of the Halkegenia winking at him from the starless night of Tristania.

Amidst the dusty tomes of the library, Mr Gimli used the illumination provided by his gem ring to read the ancient text before him. He sighed and closed the book a little too forcefully, causing a dense mist of dust to tickle his nose.

"Achoo!" Shaking the dust away, he sighed deeply. So far, not even the books in the Fenrir Section of the Library, which was restricted to teachers only, provide a clue into the mystery of that familiar's rune.

Normally the runes would simply be gibberish, random lines and dots that would be a familiar's identification. However, the rune on Miss Orneilles' familiar was very similar to a form of ancient text he had a fleeting view of.

He just couldn't find a match among all these books! Levitating down to the ground, he peered into the open books on the table. So far, he only managed to find a connection between the rune and that of the legendary Gandalfr.

Gandalfr was a special familiar to the Founder, Burimir. As the "left hand of god" he shielded the Founder as He chanted long spell runes of the Void.

The last sighting of Gandalfr was during 3000 years ago. While the truth was not clear, it seemed that the last Gandalfr was also summoned as a plebeian, but ended up being the strongest weapons master in Halkegenian history and aided the Void mages in subduing the ancient dragon with the wind spirits' powers along with a priest from Romalia who was the familiar of the Pope.

In spite of all this, Mr Gimli still cannot find any other information about the rune except that the rune bore resemblance to that of Gandalfr.

Sighing again, he decided that perhaps the runes is a figment of his imagination and decided to leave.

As he gathered the books on the table, he accidentally swept a book down off the table. Straightening his horn rimmed glasses, he bent his knees to pick the book up.

The book was 'The Four Familiars of the Void'. As his fingers swept across the edge, a small image illuminated by his ring caught his eye. Shocked and excited by his discovery, he forgot about the table and knocked his bald head onto it.

Rubbing his head in disregard of the pain, he rushed to the principal's office.


	2. Chapter 2

"A familiar helps its master in any way it can. Some familiars find beautiful jewels, others protect their masters from harm. Familiars become the other eyes and ears of their masters. But since it is obvious that a plebeian like you can't do any of those, I think you can at least do the housework around here." Louise said haughtily, not even bothering to ask for Saito's opinion.

They were now in Louise's room after the evening class that followed the summoning. The school provided dormitories for all the students and staff.

Louise was sitting on her bed, her legs folded beneath her. Saito sat on the floor, since Louise refused to allow him on the bed.

She was at the verge of tears, bearing a whole day of insults regarding her inability to summon anything decent. Normally she would have shrugged it off, but a familiar is something that she would have to take care for her entire life, so the pain stabbed deep into her heart. She was going to be cast off as a useless noble for the rest of her life!

Saito stared at Louise, nodding sometimes in between. While she was undeniably cute and pretty, she had a horrid temper that would put anyone off. Saito simply shut her out of his mind.

Saito rubbed his temples and tried to think of a way to communicate to his world.

"Are you even listening to me, plebeian?" A frown appeared on her peach colored face.

"My name is Hiraga Saito, you know? Look. Just help me to return home and we will both be happy. I just want to go back to my peaceful life and you just want to have a proper familiar."

"I have told you a million times that I have no idea how to do that! Not even the teachers know what to do!" She yelled, arms spread wide.

"Cheh. To think you are that useless." Saito folded his arms.

Louise turned calm. A dangerous glint appeared in her wavering eyes. "W-w-what did you say," her trembling voice so quiet Saito had to lean in to hear properly.

Saito should have shut his mouth there and then, but frustration made him do otherwise. Guess he really is dense in times like this.

"You're just useless."

Louise started to giggle. It was the kind of giggle that made you have goosebumps up your neck but Saito didn't notice the ominous aura surrounding her.

"Didn't you blew up half the class during class just now?" Saito started to laugh. "Now I know why. Louise the Zero. Zero in magic, zero in everything, zero in even that."

Saito pointed to her flat chest.

Something broke inside Louise.

She left the bed and silently walked to the cupboard beside him. She pulled the first drawer open.

"To think that I would have treated you like a h-h-human, plebeian, but now you've taught me something precious. There is no way a d-d-dog like you could be treated nicely."

Louise turned sharply to meet Saito straight in the eye. She held a black horse whip in her small hands. It seems that she was quite skilled in horse riding. She bent the whip and released it with a "twang~".

"To call your master u-u-useless. Idiot dog, tell me how should I punish you?"

Saito gulped and widened his eyes.

"Come now, let's not get angry over some small matter." He backed up, but the Louise forced him deeper into the corner.

Saito held his arms up to shield himself, but an upper kick from Louise into the area between his legs rendered his defense useless.

"Shut up you idiot dog!"

Pitiful screams pierced the air that night.

On the other hand, in the principal's office that night...

Mr Osmond was dozing off on his table, his long white beard slung over his shoulder as his head rested on a book he was reading that evening.

Anxious knocks called from across the spacious office.

"Mhmm, don't be shy Miss Longbill, I'm just going to lick you, mmm..." Mr Osmond laughed perversely as he talked in his dreams.

Mrs Longbill sighed and rolled her eyes as she answered the door. As the secretary of the principal's office, she was in charge of all the paperwork. She was supposed to leave early but had to stay overnight due to the slew of work left by the Principal.

Mr Gimli rushed in and ran to the Principal, his robe in disarray.

"Mr Osmond! Do you remember the familiar that Miss Orneilles summoned today?"

Mr Osmond rubbed his watery eyes, irritated that someone disturbed his wonderful dream.

"The third daughter of the Orneilles family? The one who kept blowing up our campus? What's so important about her familiar?"

Mr Gimli placed the book he found in the library tentatively before the principal. Mr Osmond's eyes widened. He stood up.

"Miss Longbill, would you mind leaving the room for a moment?"

Miss Longbill nodded and left silently, closing the door after her.

Mr Gimli continued to explain, rolling his eyes at Mr Osmond's lustful stare at his secretary's back.

"This is the rune mark of Lifdrasir, the heart of God. He is rumored to be able to enhance the powers of Void Mages, at the expense of his own life force."

Mr Osmond turned to look out of the window. He placed his hand on his beard and stroked it in thought.

"Miss Orneilles have not shown any affinity to any element. However, we cannot simply jump to the conclusion that she might be the next Void Mage." Mr Osmond then turned back to look Mr Gimli in the eye.

"This matter must never reach the imperial palace, understood?"

"But..."

"Who knows what would the wolves in the palace do if they knew of this. All they do is talk about war."

"Alright, sir. I'll not let this matter leak out of this office."

As Mr Gimli left, Mr Osmond returned to his seat. The book he was reading was the memento left by all the previous principals, like how to peek into the secretary's skirt without being seen.

But more importantly, it had detailed notes on important events of the country, comparable to that of the royal scribe, all the way back to 3000 years ago.

"So we're here again at crossroads of our destinies." He said, under the moon light, while sending his familiar to walk under Miss Longbill's skirt.

He narrowly missed the flying paperweight.


	3. Chapter 3

"Who would have thought the rye bread and soup would be such a horrifying combination?" Saito grumbled as he left the dining hall with Louise.

"Stop complaining. I had to get special permission just to let you into the hall. Normal familiars don't eat human food, you know."

They were now walking to the main classrooms after breakfast. Saito rubbed his back. There were some welts left from yesterday.

Suddenly, they noticed a brunette hugging a blonde guy in front of them. From the color of their capes, the girl was a first year while the blonde guy, Guiche was a classmate of Louise.

"Thank you Guiche! I like this brooch so much!"

"Oh Katie, you embarrass me with your subtle beauty. This brooch is but a little gift to show my love for you." Guiche twirled the rose on his hand as he spoke.

Saito cocked his eyebrows. "Hey, isn't that the guy who got engaged with Montmorency?"

"Oh, he's like that. Even though I don't like Montmorency, I do feel sorry for her." Louise didn't even looked at Guiche. It seems that she was accustomed to his behaviour.

Just then, a perfume bottle slipped out of Guiche's cape. Saito went forward to pick it up.

"Hey pretty boy, I think this is yours." He held the bottle before Guiche's nose. Katie's eyes widened.

"Aren't you Louise the Zero's familiar? Plebeian, I think you've been mistaken. That is not my bottle." Guiche gave a reassuring smile to Katie.

"I saw it fall out of your cape."

A small crowd began to gather around them.

"Isn't that the insignia of the Montmorency family? What is it doing in your cape, Guiche?" Katie looked a little cheated.

"No, no, it isn't mine. How can you believe this plebeian?"

Louise tugged at Saito's sleeve. "Don't meddle in the affairs of others, come on." She looked annoyed.

Just at that moment, Montmorency came to see what was the commotion about. As you might have guessed, a quick fight broke out and Guiche was the receiving end of the wrath of two girls.

Saito laughed heartily. "Hah, serves you right for two timing!"

Guiche looked at Saito with narrowed eyes. "As expected of the familiar of Zero, having no proper manners towards a noble at all!"

He arranged his hair and pointed his rose wand at Saito. "Since Louise has obviously been too lenient to you, I shall teach you some manners myself! I challenge you to a duel!"

Just before Louise could stop him, Saito agreed to it.

"Meet you at Vestri Court then, in a quarter hour's time." Guiche then walked away.

"What are you doing, idiot! You're going to get yourself killed!" Louise slapped the back of Saito's arm.

Saito didn't even hear her. He followed Guiche to Vestri Court. Louise shook her head. Just how much trouble was he going to get her into?

"Mr Osmond, it seems that a crowd had gathered at Vestri Court. The familiar of Louise de Orneilles is dueling the son of Gramont, Guiche. Teachers have been asking for permission to use the Bell of Slumber to dispel the crowd."

Mr Gimli was looking worriedly at the courtyard. However, the old principal seemed nonchalant.

"Never mind. Just let them be."

"But Mr Osmond..."

"There is a reason why I want to observe this duel, and I believe you understand the reason quite well."

Mr Gimli pursed his mouth. He nodded grimly.

"This is the perfect opportunity to observe if the familiar is what we think he is, Mr Gimli."

Back at Vestri Court, Saito raised the sleeves of this jacket. "Before we start, fist only, shoulders down, okay? I'll go easy on you!"

Guiche laughed softly. "Fists? I'm not going to stoop down to your level, plebeian. I'm a mage, so of course I'm going to use magic."

He swept his wand in front of him. A rose petal flew into the air and fell on the ground. A circle of light appeared and a bronze warrior rose from the ground. It had the appearance of an armoured female knight.

"I'm Guiche the Bronze, and this would be your opponent, my Valkyrie!"

"Stop it, idiot! There is no way a commoner like you would be able to win against a mage!" Louise yelled at Saito in rage. "Just apologise to Guiche and let the matter go!"

Guiche nodded. "I'm a kind and forgiving noble. If you beg for forgiveness now, I might just consider it."

Saito's blood boiled at that attitude. He answered by rushing towards Guiche with his fist held high. However, he was intercepted by the bronze golem. It delivered a punch into his stomach, knocking him backwards for a meters.

"Ku..." Saito coughed and rubbed his stomach. The pain was so intense that he felt as if his stomach was ripped apart.

Louise rushed to Saito. "Now do you understand what I meant? Even though Guiche is just a beginner, he still wields magic. Just apologise, Saito."

Was there a tint of worry in her big hazel eyes? Saito wondered if he was dreaming.

"You know, that's the first time in days since I heard you call my name."

"N-now's not the time to say this kind of things, idiot! Can't you just listen to my orders!" Louise's face was pink in rage.

Guess it was just his imagination then. Saito shook his head.

"You know, I don't mind if the food sucked. I don't mind being whipped and yelled at. I don't even mind having to wash your underwear." Saito slowly got up. "But what I do mind, is bowing my head to some haughty noble who wouldn't even admit that he did a mistake."

"Come now, plebeian, I haven't even started." Guiche let out a sarcastic laugh.

Saito dusted his sleeves. "That's nothing. Is that the best you could give me? How pathetic."

Guiche stomped his feet in rage. He summoned another golem and ordered them to attack Saito. Saito simply met them head on, but he got pummelled into the ground. The bronze golems were simply impervious to his punches.

"Saito! Just stop, please!"

Saito wiped blood off his mouth and shook his head. "Someone's got to teach this guy a lesson. Besides, I can't stand him calling you Zero everytime anyway."

"What...you don't have to do this for me! Hey, don't get up!"

Saito simply got up again and tried to tackle a golem. He was kicked away. The other golem charged forward.

Just as he prepared to dodge it, he caught a flash of pink in front of him. In a sudden move, he hugged the pink haired girl and turned to use his back to shield her. They both tumbled to the ground.

Saito tasted blood in his mouth.

"What are you doing idiot!"

"S-shut up!" Louise was shaking terribly.

Saito turned to look at Guiche. "What the heck were you thinking? Couldn't you stop your golem?!"

"Hey it was so sudden! Who would have thought that stupid girl would rush in front?"

Saito's fist tightened.

"She's not stupid! She's an idiot! And she's my idiot master!" Saito didn't even know what he was talking. Knowing that Louise got hurt trying to shield him lighted something inside him.

Saito felt as if the pain from his injuries was alleviated. His bruises began to heal on its own. His body felt full of energy. He rushed forward to Guiche. The golems came to block him, but he felt nothing as their punches connected.

Guiche started to panic and summoned more golems, but Saito just stood there, absorbing their punches. Semitransparent white runes appeared on his body around the areas where he was hit.

Just then, Saito gave a upper kick to one of the golems. It broke cleanly in half. Everybody was dumbstruck. Louise, who had gotten up, looked at Saito, mouth agape.

The next few seconds were a blur as Saito proceeded to clean up the rest of the golems. Louise noticed that whenever he punched them, runes would appear momentarily on his fist like a glove.

Kicking away the broken body of the golem, Saito stood in front of Guiche.

"Do we need to continue?"

"I-I yield." The noble had fallen on the ground, incredulous that he had been defeated by a plebeian.

Louise rushed to Saito's side.

"Are you okay?" Saito brushed dirt off her shirt.

"Of course I'm okay! What happened just now? You've actually won!"

The shining runes on his body slowly subsided as he confirmed that Louise wasn't hurt anymore. His injuries began to reveal themselves again and his body started to ache all over.

The last thing he heard was Louise's cute voice calling his name amidst the cheering from the crowd.

Mr Gimli turned to look at Mr Osmond in surprise.

"The plebeian familiar actually won against a mage."

"Well then Mr Gimli, go ahead and disperse the crowd."

"We should really report this to the palace, Mr Osmond. This is unprecedented behaviour!"

Mr Osmond shook his head. "As I said, who knows what schemes would the palace create once they know of this? Don't worry about it anymore, Mr Gimli. I'll investigate this personally."

After a moment's hesitation, Mr Gimli nodded and proceeded to walk to Vestri Court.

Mr Osmond looked out to the courtyard again. None of his research showed any characteristic of the Lifdrasir beyond enhancing the powers of the Void. However, the familiar just now, displayed a high resilience to damage and sudden burst damage.

Could it be something else? The real meaning behind the powers of Lifdrasir?

The only records on this mystical familiar was when it was summoned on the same familiar that already had the rune of Gandalfr.

He had to do more research. Maybe a trip into to the Amper Library in the treasury would help.

Stroking his beard, he watched as the pink haired mage shove the floating unconscious familiar to the Fire Tower.


	4. Chapter 4

Saito looked at his surroundings in a daze. He was sitting in a back alley of sorts, the dull orange of the evening sun lighting up the sky.

Where the heck am I? Saito wondered.

His head felt a little groggy but he managed to get up. His body had no injuries anymore. Sounds of horse hoofs, metal clanging and people talking echoed beyond the alley.

Saito dusted dirt off his shirt and walked. He noticed a wooden door on the earthen walls and knocked on it but no one answered.

Saito pushed the door open, surprised that it was not locked. He entered a room furnished with a simple wooden table, chairs around it and a closet at the corner of the room. The table was full of yellowish paper that reminded him of old books he bought from a second hand book store in Japan.

He rummaged through the pile of paper on the table, desperate to find a clue on his whereabouts.

Most of the paper were filled with text written by an unknown characters but he struck gold with the last piece of paper. It was so big that it took up half the table, with various lines and geographical images like mountains and rivers.

Saito's best guess was that it was a primitive hand drawn map.

He looked at a place circled on the map, surrounded by mountains and dots, which he presumed was the sign of a desert. There was an arrow leading from it to another place near something that looked like a river. Both places were labeled with the strange characters he saw before but the second place also had a cross drawn over it.

In fact, he noticed that there was a few other arrows leading from similar mountainous valleys on the map to the place marked with a cross. Saito wondered what were they supposed to represent.

Just then, he heard sounds of footsteps in the alley outside. Unsure of what would happen if he was caught messing around, Saito looked around for a place to hide.

He quickly hid himself in the closet just as the door was opened. Peeping through a hole in the closet, he saw a young man step into the room, followed by a young woman.

They didn't seem to notice the hastily arranged papers on the table, but what followed was the next strangest thing he ever saw and heard after being summoned as a familiar, getting kissed, whipped and yelled by a pretty girl.

"Sasha, Sasha, come drink with me." The young man waved a beer bottle before him, obviously drunk and depressed. His clothing was unkempt but there was something about his face that hinted nobility.

The woman, Sasha was beautiful and graceful in an other worldly way. If one looked closely, one would notice that hers ears were long and pointed, her pupils larger than normal females, and her pale skin having a slight golden tint. In other words, she was an elf.

Sasha snatched the bottle from him. She shook her head disdainfully.

"What happened to you? I know you savages drink beer to alleviate depression and pain, so what caused you pain? You've been like this since you left the Cave of Hira."

At the mention of the word "savage", the young man pointed at her.

"Exactly, my dear Sasha. Savages. We're just savages, Sasha, poor foolish savages." He laughed softly.

"W-who are you calling your dear Sasha?!" Sasha's face turned red and she slapped the back of the young man. "Ugh, to think I've actually let you experiment on me and make me your familiar. Besides, I'm not a savage,you are. Elves are the proud first born of the desert. You human magus just came of your own accord."

The young man simply said nothing. There was a hint of sadness behind that smile. He opened another bottle of beer but did not drink from it. He looked at a point far away.

"A revelation was made to me that day in Hira."

Sasha was startled by the sudden steel in his voice. What did he meant by revelation?

"You will follow me to your elven capital of Neptes tomorrow, where we will ask for help from the elves in liberating the citizens of Sunder." He said, as if in a trance.

"Sunder? Isn't that the military stronghold of the Valiag? Besides, you do know that my people will never agree to anything like that, right?"

Sasha waited for an answer from the young guy but what she got instead was light snores. She sighed.

"Sometimes, Brimir, I just hope to be able to look into that big head of yours and know what you're thinking."

She stroked the rune of Gandalfr on the back of her left hand unconsciously.

Saito wanted to walk out of the closet and ask what were they talking about, but his feet were suddenly rooted to the ground. Before he could fathom the meaning of this encounter, he was whisked away into the darkness.

Louise watched her familiar groan and turn in his sleep as she prepared fresh bandages. She sighed. Why the heck did he have to get himself in a duel? She had to get a few healers and pay for an expensive reagent to heal all his broken bones and organs.

Louise puffed her cheek and pouted.

Secretly though, she was grateful for what Saito did for her, though she would never admit that to him. Nobody called her Louise the Zero anymore, except for a few annoying classmates.

Louise wondered if she should get a weapon for Saito in case he got into another fight again. While he did have that mysterious power during the duel with Guiche, Louise wasn't sure if Saito knew anything about it.

Sometimes familiars gain new powers when they are summoned. Louise wondered if that was the case as she counted the money left in her purse.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a sunny day at the town of Habar, her streets bustling with the sounds of vendors loudly advertising their wares, customers haggling over prices, and a certain pink haired girl chastising her familiar over his plebeian manners.

"Don't you have streets like this where you came from?" Louise yanked Saito away from a carpet vendor who was showing off a purple carpet.

"Yeah, but this is magical! It reminds me of the time I went to Turkey with my family. Hey, look at that! A moving glass chicken!"

Saito's curiosity possessed him and he started to move towards the stall selling various glass items.

"Hey, that's just a salt dispenser. Jeez, you're embarrassing. What's this 'tooki' anyway?" Louise sighed and pulled Saito away by his ear.

It was Void Day, a national holiday celebrating the deeds of the Void Mages who crushed the Ancient Dragon before it could return Halkegenia back to the Stone Age. Louise decided to buy Saito a weapon, so here they were, after several hours on horseback.

Saito woke up from his coma after three days, the strange dream forgotten past the shores of his consciousness. He half expected Louise to hug him when he woke up, a byproduct of watching too much dramas, but what he got instead was a basket full of unwashed clothes and getting yelled at for sleeping on Louise's bed.

Saito did notice that Louise looked like a panda with her heavy eye bags under her hazel eyes though. He scratched the back of his head and turn to look at Louise.

"Hey, I heard from Siesta that you were the one taking care of me when I was asleep. Anyway, um, thank you."

Louise blushed and lowered her head. "That's just because nobody wanted to take care of you, idiot." Though her words seemed harsh, her voice was surprisingly soft.

They continued to walk among the crowd in silence for a while. Saito stole a few looks at his master and soon found himself drowning in her hazel eyes.

"Who's this Siesta anyway?" Louise decided to break the silence.

"Oh she's just this maid whom I met when I was washing your underwear one day."

"So she's one of the maids from the academy."

"Yeah. Hey Louise, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Louise tilted her head cutely as she turned and raised her head to look at Saito.

"Siesta told me that girls normally wear bras here too, but why don't you have any?"

With lightning speed, Louise's hand reached for her wand and soon an explosion rocked the center of the town, along with the pitiful moans of a dense familiar.

There was only one weapons dealer in Habar, sitting in a dark shop in the back alleys. He kept guard on a stool behind the counter, his mousy eyes drooping. It seemed like another day of bad business.

Just then, the door bell rang and in came a cloaked noble girl dragging a lump of cloth behind her. She released the cloth and it fell on the ground with a heavy thump.

"I'm here to buy a weapon for this dog here." Louise gave Saito a kick.

"Well miss, you've come to the right place." The shopkeeper gave her the best smile he could give. It wasn't every day when he could get a noble customer.

Saito managed to get up after a few tries. He rubbed his bruised body. Louise could really be violent when she was angry. However, his eyes shone brightly in excitement when he realized where he was.

The store was filled with every medieval weapon of war Saito could imagine. The walls was filled with shields of various coat of arms, each painted with a shiny finish. Halberds, swords and rapiers were arranged nicely along the walls.

"I don't really know anything about weapons so just give me your best weapon in the shop." Louise said haughtily.

The shopkeeper was all smiles. He wondered what good luck he had today. This was going to be easy business. A clueless little noble girl with tons of money was the perfect customer to phish.

He showed them a rapier encrusted with jewels from his stores. It seemed more ornamental than battle ready. Louise wondered if it could even pierce paper. She thought back to how Saito defeated Guiche with his bare hands.

"Do you have something broader and larger?"

"Trust me on this mademoiselle, your servant can't take something that heavy."

"Just bring me what I want, plebeian." Louise pursed her lips together and shooed the shopkeeper with her tiny hands.

The shopkeeper snorted in rage when he turned his back to Louise. How dare the little brat question his experience?

The next weapon he showed her was a huge golden broadsword. It shone even under the dim lights in the store. Saito's eyes beamed as his hands went over the sword. Looking at Saito's reaction, Louise nodded and asked for the price.

"That would be 3000 ecu." The shopkeeper rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Louise's eyes widened. "I could have bought a castle and the surrounding land with that sort of money!"

"A good sword is as valuable as a castle, you know?"

Louise ground her teeth as she peeked into her purse.

"Could it be sold at less? I've only a hundred ecu with me."

Saito and the shopkeeper both slumped their shoulders. The shopkeeper's tone turned scornful.

"Young lady, all weapons here are sold at a price of two hundred ecu or more. Are you sure you really want to buy a weapon with that measly amount of money?"

"Don't you have a lot of pocket money as the daughter of a noble?" Saito folded his arms.

"Speaking of that, I would have, if someone just hadn't went on to get himself badly injured and had me buy an expensive reagent for him" Louise glared at Saito. He looked around guiltily for something else that he could salvage.

Just then Saito noticed a familiar shape in the corner. He picked it up, his hands shaking in joy. It looked like two short sticks that were joined together side by side. The sticks also had a hilt sticking perpendicularly out of the body at about the third of its length. Louise noticed that its body was rusty and the hilt was covered in rough cloth. It looked much suitable as scrap metal but somehow Saito has taken a liking to this trash.

"Is that even usable?"

"It's a tonfa, Louise, something from my world!" Saito never thought of finding a weapon from his world before. "I had some training in using this since I was a kid."

Saito split the tonfa and wielded them in his hands and practiced a few moves with it. Louise had to admit that it seemed quite graceful in his hands, though she has never seen something like it.

"Where did you get this from?" Saito wondered if it came from his world.

"Oh that? I have no idea, but you can get it for a hundred ecu anyway. It's just trash."

While Saito was a little offended by the way the shopkeeper referred to his choice, he was too engrossed in thinking about the modifications that he could build into the tonfa that he did not mind it at all.

Louise rolled his eyes and paid for the tonfa. I guess this is what Mother meant when she said boys will be boys, Louise thought. Her father was also somewhat of a wand fanatic who would spend hours looking at new wands.

Looking at the tonfa as he headed home with Louise, Saito was suddenly consumed by the strong feeling to return home. The memories of his family, his bed, his computer, flooded his mind and he began to weep on his own silently behind Louise.


	6. Chapter 6

Louise stared at the mysterious box in front of her.

It had a side with black glass, and the other sides were made of something akin of metal, smooth but hard.

She poked it twice. "This is what everybody has on their pockets in your world?" Louise was incredulous.

Saito switched his phone on by pressing on one of the buttons beside the screen.

Louise jumped at the sudden flash of light from the phone. Her eyes were as wide as a goldfish's.

"Welcome back!" The phone vibrated.

"What is that?!" Louise was so scared that she hid behind Saito, her body trembling.

Saito picked his phone up. It was one of the newest smart phones at his time. He was returning home with it when he was picked up by the mysterious circle of light that appeared out of thin air.

"This is a phone. It's something I use when I want to talk to someone far away." He swiped the lock screen away and pressed the gallery icon.

"F-fone? What a strange name. " She looked at it incredulously. "Is it a magical item?"

"No, it's science. Now that you've mentioned it, I never noticed any communication device here. What do you do when you want to talk to your family far away?"

"Well, I can either go home or write letters and send them by pigeon post."

"Jeez, it's really like the middle ages here."

Saito showed Louise the scenery of the park near his home in spring when all the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. He sighed. His phone was all that was left that connected him and his world. Luckily he switched off the phone as soon as he got the chance so there was around 40% battery left.

Louise eyes widened. She smiled, her hazel eyes twinkling in the candlelight of her room.

"It's beautiful! The fona can create beautiful things in it too?"

"It's ph-oo-ne, not fona. These are pictures I have taken around my house in spring, so it's not created by the phone, in a sense."

She sure is pretty when she smiles, Saito thought as he swiped the screen to show more of the scenery to Louise.

"Here, try swiping the screen yourself." He handed the phone carefully to Louise.

Louise gulped and placed her finger on the screen. She moved it to the side and the picture changed on screen.

"W-wow! This is amazing! Is science a kind of magic?" Louise swiped a few more times.

Saito puffed out his chest in pride. "Nope, not one bit of magic at all!"

He waited for an answer from Louise but she was simply staring at the screen.

Her nape started to turn red, and then her face slowly blushed deep red. Her fingers trembled and her entire body began to shake.

Saito cocked his eyebrows. What would have caused her to be in such rage? He snatched the phone from her and almost popped his eyes when he saw what was on the screen. He began to sneak away, but was caught by the collar.

The crack of the whip reverberated around the room.

"Why are there half naked women in your fona, you pervert!" Louise kicked Saito in the rear, forcing him to kneel on the floor.

Principal Osmond thought he heard a faint scream somewhere, but it quickly subsided, so he dismissed it and returned his attention back to the imperial messenger before him.

"…Is there anything I need to clarify further?" The messenger looked up from the parchment he was holding.

"What? Oh, uh, nothing much."

"Alright then. The Palace holds your post in the highest regard, sir. I hope you won't disappoint."

Principal Osmond narrowed his eyes at the faintly veiled threat.

"Miss Longbill, please show Mr Steven to the main gate."

As soon as the imperial messenger has left, Mr Osmond heaved a sigh. The messenger has come to confirm the transfer of a certain mystical box from the Holy Land, said to contain technology beyond their understanding to the Academy vaults.

The official explanation for the transfer was that it would be better available for the professors to research on it, but Mr Osmond has read between the lines and knew that there was something more behind this.

However, he just couldn't pinpoint the reason behind his intuition. Perhaps it was the rumour behind a legendary thief, Fouquette that has stolen countless valuables from nobles.

From what he heard, the thief was a powerful Earth Mage who would use Alchemy to circumvent security measures. If that failed, he would use a huge and powerful golem to destroy the vault instead. It was crude but effective. From whatever information he could gather, the thief was a Triangle mage.

He shook his head. With great power comes great responsibility. Why would people misuse magic was beyond his understanding. That said, he should ask Miss Longbill to prepare a speech on these topics for the talk tomorrow during breakfast.

"Sorry for bothering you, Siesta." Saito sat on his chair, looking sheepish.

"It's no big deal, Mr Saito. In fact, Mr Erfurt told me that you're welcome to come eat here any time. It's just leftovers from the noble's meal anyway." Siesta gave him a sweet smile as she place another plate of bread and steak before Saito.

"Tuck in, Mr Saito."

Saito nodded and began to eat ferociously. Due to his mishap yesterday, Louise refused to let him eat breakfast and lunch today. By afternoon, Saito have already passed out with hunger. Luckily, he was spotted by Siesta when she walked passed by after her break.

Saito felt someone suddenly lock his neck with an arm of great strength.

"Come on, Mr Saito, don't be shy! You've been our pride ever since you've shown that plebeians can beat nobles in magic too!" Mr Erfurt was the main chef of the kitchen.

"It was nothing really. I don't even know what happened."

"Ah, don't be modest. Look, he's so modest! Boys and girls, learn from him!" Shouts of affirmation echoed around the kitchen.

Saito simply smiled sheepishly and declined Mr Erfurt's request for a kiss.

Come to think of it, he has not gave the events of that day serious thought. He remembered being pummelled by Guiche's golems. Louise came to block a blow for him, but luckily he managed to take it for her.

After that was when strange things happened. He felt his chest turn warm. His injuries were suddenly gone and his strength returned.

Saito wondered what the runes on his hands were about. Maybe he would get gain a deeper understanding if he knew how to read them. He hoped that it was not some kind of arcane language though. For someone who has only mediocre grades in school, Saito still had a healthy interest in learning.

Maybe he could ask Louise to teach him?

Saito mentally shook his head. He was not going to let some abusive pretty face ruin his experience of learning a new language. Besides, he was still angry at her for not letting him switch off his phone so the battery was now dead.

"Siesta, can you teach me how to read?"

Siesta was startled by his request. She stammered.

"Actually, I don't really know how to read. I'm still learning from my uncle Scarron…"

"Oh well, do you know anyone who could teach me?"

"How about Louise?"

"No. She'll just call me stupid and ask me to beg like a dog."

"B-b-beg like a dog? U-um, maybe you could ask around in the library."

"There's a library here? Where is it?"

"It's in the third floor of the main tower."

Saito thanked Siesta and Mr Erfurt for the meal and began to walk to the library.


	7. Chapter 7

The main library of the Tristain Magic Academy takes up three floors of the main tower. The top floor is the Fenrir section, where students are not allowed to enter, while the bottom Freyr floor and middle Frigg floor is open to the public.

Louise, the pink haired noble girl, is currently studying for her tests for the next day. While she had pretty bad grades due to her inability to perform basic elemental magic, she was still quite the serious student.

In spite of that, her mind would occasionally wander. This time, she thought of the scene she saw just now, where Saito ate at the kitchen, unknown of her presence outside the window. While she was extremely angry that her punishment was rendered useless, she decided to let the matter go since she was a little worried that her punishment was too harsh anyway.

"H-how do I read this word?" Saito's faint voice entered her ears.

Louise ears perked. She looked around but didn't see his signature black parka anywhere. She wondered if she was imagining things.

"It's read 'alef', dear." There was no mistaking it. It was the same dry voice that ridiculed Louise from day one. She narrowed her eyes.

Kirche.

What was she doing with Saito anyway?

Louise closed her book and searched the floor for them. She finally found Kirche hugging Saito near the corner of the reading area. His eyes kept swinging towards the area above Kirche's stomach.

Louise let out a dry cough that drew their attention.

Saito's eyes widened when he noticed Louise and he gulped.

Louise and Kirche, the redhead that had Saito in her arms, locked eyes and squinted at each other. Louise's body trembled in rage. She marched silently to Saito and yanked him away by the ear.

"Louise the Zero, what are you doing with my darling?" Kirche whispered angrily as she stood up abruptly. The sound of the chair being forcefully pushed back echoed around the library. Shushes came from the other tables.

Louise did not answer and continue to pull Saito out of the library. Saito began to pray that he got to escape from this nightmare alive.

When they were finally out to Vestri Court, Louise dumped Saito on the ground and spoke to him in a low voice.

"Ex-ex-explain why you were with that milk cow."

"I wanted to learn how to read to better serve you, master. Since my master is so busy, I decided to go to the library and ask for help. I don't wish to bother my master with such a trivial matter." Saito knelt before Louise.

"H-h-how thoughtful of you. In return, I will also give you an ex-ex-extremely thoughtful gift."

Louise pulled out her wand. Saito's face lost its color.

"I don't care who you ask, but why it had to be Zerbst? That insolent milk cow, rubbish mouth, useless woman…" Louise began to babble on her own. Her face was as red as beetroot, visible even under the moon light.

"Eh-eh, what?"

Louise pointed her wand at Saito. "Zerbst and Orneilles have been enemies from the day that scumbag of a Zerbst stole the wife of my great-great-great grandfather, and have been messing around with us ever since! We have been in war with them for two centuries!"

Saito did not understand why he had to be punished over their feud, but what he did know was that he probably would not survive the night.

As Louise swung her wand, he pounced towards Louise out of his survival instinct, knocking her off balance.

An explosion rang from a high place behind Saito just as Kirche and a blue haired girl ran out of the main tower.

A few minutes before that, a black silhouette stood on the main tower, a level below the principal's office, the wind tugging at her hood. She took an amber gem from her pocket and held it in her left hand as she placed the other hand on the wall before her.

"Earth, earth, earth , earth, water." She muttered as she chanted the reinforced transmutation spell, Alchemy. The amber gem in her hand dissolved as it was used in the spell.

The wall remained defiant. Just as she thought, the walls around the treasury have been protected by a powerful Solidification spell, possible with a few gems thrown in too. She looked at the remains of the amber gem in her hand, small featherlike points of light winking out of existence.

Centuries of studies allowed scholars of Halkegenia to find a way to utilise spirit stones in their elemental magic, enhancing the abilities of mages and reducing willpower consumption, simply by wrapping the original runes with additional special runes. Using spirit stones with the same affinity allowed twice the effect.

Fouquette sighed. Even with a pentagonal spell, the walls remain untouched, so it was not even possible to try brute force with her golem. She wondered how she was going to report to her employer over the failed heist. She grinded her teeth in hurt pride.

Fouquette never fails.

Just then, she noticed a pink haired noble drag a boy with black clothing out of the main tower. The girl yelled for some time before swinging her wand.

Just then, the wall beside her exploded.

Fouquette ducked, mouth agape. She could not believe that the girl below might have just circumvented a high level Solidification spell.

Not one to let a golden chance slip past her fingers, she quickly leaped into the hole created by the explosion and searched for her prize. She quickly found the ornate black box sitting on a rack, decorated by special runes that had been specified by her employer. The Academy did not even bother to hide it, since the vault was believed to be impenetrable.

Summoning a giant golem with another gem from her pocket, with enhanced speed from a wind element rune, she quickly leaped on it after leaving her signature message on the floor.

"Prize duly received - Fouqette."

Unable to hide her elation, she waved goodbye to the dumbstruck students below as her golem leapt out of the academy.

Principal Osmond rushed out of the canteen when he heard the explosion. Normally, he would have been in his office, but he was hungry and Miss Longbill had left home early, so he had to get his meal himself. By the time he reached Ventri Court, he only managed to get a glimpse of the huge golem that leapt away.

"Mr Osmond! The treasury have been broken into!" Mr Gimli rushed to the Principal. He was on watchdog duty that day, but he never expected someone to attack the treasury from the side.

"I see. Do we have a glimpse of the thief?"

"I have not seen him, but it seems that some students have witnessed the entire incident."

Mr Osmond stroked his beard. "Ah well, what done is done. Have those students come to my office tomorrow during lunch break, but for now could you please calm the students down and have them return to their dorms? I'll do what I can to patch the treasury wall temporarily."

Principal Osmond heaved a sigh as he levitated to the hole in the treasury wall. There was a lingering question as he waved his wand to repair the wall.

What would become of the ghastly power that destroyed the wall which was reinforced with a heptagonal Solidification spell?


End file.
